Kingston's current train schedule is determined by end-to-end traffic from Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto. By 2019, Yves Desjardins-Siciliano, president and CEO of Via Rail, wants that to change.

"By 2019, trains will be starting out of Kingston or coming into Kingston first thing in the morning for the work day. The last train at the end of the evening will allow people to go into the cities to enjoy the evening events, and get back into town at the end of those events," said Desjardins-Siciliano in a Via Rail update at the Holiday Inn on Friday.

The current early departure from Kingston to Toronto is 5:32 a.m. But for the destinations of Montreal or Ottawa, Kingston departures are not until 9 a.m., which Desjardins-Siciliano calls "useless" for days of business in those cities.

He also noted that with the current schedule, Kingstonians are unable to go to a Toronto Raptors NBA game or a Toronto Maple Leafs NHL game because the last train from Toronto to Kingston is in the middle of the evening.

"The schedule doesn't fit the lifestyle of people in Kingston, which is why most of them still take their car," Desjardins-Siciliano said. "So we'll change that."

Changes will be made by facilitating a "high-frequency network" that will put "end-to-end" traffic routes from Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto on a dedicated track. The current routes that exist on freight railways will be adjusted to tailor the towns in between those cities, with key anchor points being Kingston on the east side of Toronto and London on the west side of Toronto, described Desjardins-Siciliano.

The major enterprise of Via Rail is the Quebec City-to-Windsor corridor, which represents 90 per cent of Via Rail's revenue and passengers. Kingston is recognized as Via Rail's most served station in this corridor, with 12 stops per day during the week in each direction. In 2015, 168,528 passengers departed from Kingston.

Via Rail is hoping to get permission for this project from the federal government by the end of this year or early in 2017. If permission is granted, the project can start to build in spring 2017 and be in service by the fall of 2019.

Desjardins-Siciliano quoted actor Gwyneth Paltrow to say that there is a need to "consciously uncouple" Via Rail passenger trains from sharing freight train railways -- which has been happening since the beginning of train technology in North America -- in order to provide service with better times and reliability.

The project would cost $4 billion to link Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto to a passenger infrastructure dedicated to passenger service, which would be operated solely by Via for Via passengers.

"To fund that, we believe that we can access public pension funds,"said Desjardins-Siciliano said.

He assured skeptics that this project would have economic, social and environmental benefits.

Desjardins-Siciliano noted that this project would create 300,000 jobs between the cities of Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto. He also said that it is expected to take five million cars off the road and put people into trains instead, contributing to smaller carbon footprints.

Mayor Bryan Paterson welcomed the project as it aligns with the vision to strengthen Kingston's local economy.

Additionally, Desjardins-Siciliano announced that $1.6 million will be earmarked towards renovations for the Kingston train station through money received as part of the March 2016 federal budget.

"We're hoping that it'll reflect our commitment to Kingston and the area, and our desire to make travel that much easier and more pleasant for Kingston residents," he said.

Esthetic and engineering changes to the Kingston station will occur over the course of this summer and are expected to be completed by next summer.